Abstract
X-ray absorption spectroscopy combined with an in-situ electrochemical cell has been developed for characterization of unstable, but electrochemically stable metalloprotein model compounds with various oxidation states in solution. The technique has been applied to some dimanganese Schiff-base complexes as a model of Photosystem II and [Ru2(μ-O)(μ-CH3COO)2(bpy)2L2](L=pyridine and 1-methylimidazole) as a model off hemerythrin. It has been found that X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) patterns correlate well with the formal oxidation states of the metal ions and aggregation. The analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data has revealed characteristic metal-ligand and metal-metal distances within the model compounds with different oxidation states.